Reasons for Pride in 2012, Part 2

BY Advocate Contributors

May 16 2012 4:00 AM ET

Because hunky het guys are no longer afraid to champion our causes

Model Daniel Garofali, musician Jason Mraz, and actors Max Adler and Josh Hutcherson all came out in support of LGBT rights this year. Garafoli (pictured, below) started We’re Human Too, a collective focusing on “the right thing to do as a human being,” he says. “It stands for humanity in all forms; your religion, race, socio-economic status, gender, sexual orientation, etc., and focuses on the foundations of the human condition; we are all human, we all want to love and be loved, we all want to be happy.”

Mraz spoke out against bullying, pledged that he wouldn’t marry until there was full marriage equality, and then performed for fund-raisers for both the True Colors Fund and the Trevor Project. He appeared in the Give a Damn marriage equality information campaign alongside Elton John and others. His newly formed Jason Mraz Foundation will also support the True Colors Fund, along with other organizations aligned with Jason’s four pillars of service: human equality, environmental preservation, arts and education, and recovery and assistance.

Hutcherson, the star of The Hunger Games, has filmed public service announcements for the antibullying organization Straight But Not Narrow, spoke with the Gay-Straight Alliance Network about the importance of straight allies for LGBT youth, and this spring filmed a video along with Straight But Not Narrow leader Avan Jogia. Meanwhile, Adler, best known as Glee’s closeted gay former bully Dave Karofsky, inspired his global Twitter and Glee-blog followers to donate tens of thousands to Max’s ABC: Anti-Bullying Through City Hearts program (he was the spokesman for City Hearts, an arts group). To help pull it off, he gave away tees that read “Be Brave Enough to Be Kind” on the back and auctioned off a lunch with him, while fans from as far away as Norway gave repeat donations or made “matching” contributions as Valentine’s Day gifts.